RIYADH: The wise policies of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) have protected local financial institutions when the whole world has been struck with economic crisis, observed John Thain, chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch, at a press briefing held at the Four Seasons Hotel here yesterday.
Thain, who is making his maiden visit to the Kingdom after assuming office as CEO of Merrill Lynch, said the financial institutions in the Kingdom did not experience the impact of the global financial crisis as in other parts of the world due to the protection given by SAMA.
He pointed out that infusing new capital, providing protection and having access to liquidity, are the basic principles that are being followed to overcome this crisis . “ The Kingdom and other countries including the US have taken the right step to solve the current global crisis. “This is my first visit to Saudi Arabia, we want to highlight the importance of the Kingdom to global business,” Thain said while detailing the purpose of his visit to Riyadh.
He also said that the stock market in the region will regain its position in matter of time and Merrill Lynch plans to open offices in Kuwait and Qatar to harness the economic development in the region. Merrill Lynch recently added five new financial advisers to its wealth management unit in Riyadh.
“We have been in the region for over 35 years and we are optimistic about our business in the region. With the collaboration of Bank of America, we derive greater financial strength and flexibility to offer better financial services to our customers,” Thain said, adding that his company hopes to boost its Middle East business in keeping with the growing economic trends.
“The large pool of liquidity in the Gulf gives the region an opportunity to take advantage of the global financial meltdown and make attractive investments,” he said, adding that the tremendous amounts of financial resources that exist here give this region opportunities to take advantage of the difficulties in the financial markets right now.
